Saturday, May 18, 2013

Pleasures and pitfalls of a Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

The Pleasures and Pitfalls of Frank Lloyd Wright Homes


There are 20 Frank Lloyd Wright homes now on the market, and some are available at a markdown. But owning an architectural treasure can come with significant headaches.


 


Sharon and Lawrence Tarantino love the Frank Lloyd Wright house they bought in Millstone, N.J., for $400,000 in 1988. They just wish the residence they call "a work of art" weren't so prone to flooding.

The Price Is Wright

Scott Mayoral
Pasadena, Calif.: This 4,230-square-foot house, erected in 1923 for $17,000, features walls of concrete blocks, many with a cross pattern that lets light through. But the house is prone to leakage during heavy rainfall.

The three-bedroom home, whose two-story windows overlook a terrace stretching out of the living room, has been inundated by a nearby river seven times since the Tarantinos purchased it. Rather than wait for flood No. 8, they're reluctantly selling.
But they have laid down unusual conditions for the buyer: Dismantle, move and reconstruct the 2,000-square-foot house on a suitable natural site—at an all-in price that could reach between $2.5 million and $3 million, depending on the location. The figure includes original Wright furniture and advice from Ms. Tarantino, a designer, and her architect husband.
For those willing to accept the challenge of owning a dwelling designed by America's most-famous architect, there are about 20 Wright homes currently up for sale in eight states. That's the largest number in recent years. Those on the market now range from a six-bedroom Illinois home listed at $649,000 to a sprawling Montana ranch with a price tag of $5.6 million. "It is a good time to buy a Wright house because there is a variety of prices and locations,'' said Janet Halstead, executive director of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, a preservation group.
Chicago architect John Eifler, who has restored two dozen Wright homes, including the 1915 Ross House he has occupied since February 2011, said these homes can be good investments.
"Wright houses typically sell at a premium compared to those with similar sizes and locations,'' Mr. Eifler said. "But flawed alterations may devalue them." He made a number of renovations at his suburban Glencoe, Ill., home—adding, for instance, a living-room bench that Mr. Wright had sketched in drafts of the house but never installed.
Around 270 of the structures that Mr. Wright designed for middle-class and wealthy families remain occupied as residences and typically are named after their original owners. Sales of Wright houses began to recover last year when eight changed hands—up from two in 2007, six in 2008 and two in 2009, according to the Wright conservancy.

There are about 20 U.S. homes for sale were designed by a man lauded by his profession as the greatest U.S. architect of all time. But such deals sometimes come with strings attached. Joann Lublin explains on Lunch Break. Photo: Jeff Anderson Custom Finishes.
Wright homes, primarily built between the 1890s and 1950s, feature distinctive design elements. The architect removed unnecessary interior walls while emphasizing free-flowing spaces, harmony with nature and walls of art glass that he called "light screens."
Buyers tempted by the idea of owning a piece of architectural history should remember that it's rarely as straightforward as winning a bidding war. Many of the homes by Mr. Wright pose challenges. The architect favored small kitchens and closets—at odds with current tastes—and usually omitted basements. And some of these homes need the maintenance and repairs required for any home built decades or even a century ago.
It's often tricky to renovate an architectural treasure while preserving Wright's innovations, such as radiant-floor heating, carports, built-in furniture and soaring clerestory windows. Meanwhile, permanent easements held by the Wright conservancy on 16 private Wright residences limit exterior alterations.
Even well-restored Wright homes don't always sell fast enough for their owners, which sometimes sparks sizable price cuts.
The Buehler House in Orinda, Calif., went on the market for $4.995 million in September 2011 following a roughly $750,000 renovation. The 4,000-square-foot property features several 18-karat-gold-leaf ceilings, a guesthouse and 2.3 acres of grounds landscaped by Henry Matsutani, designer of the Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park. For the dining room, Mr. Wright devised a china-dish pattern and low-back chairs so as not to obstruct views of the gardens. Though the dinnerware is negotiable, the Wright furniture is included with the sale.

Signature Style


The home came up for sale after the owners died. The trustee slashed the price to $3.9 million a year ago and lowered it again, to $3.35 million, in October.
"We still haven't hit the right price, even with the market heating up,'' said Gretchen Scheid, an Alain Pinel Realtors agent who is handling the sale. A Wright residence "has to be thought of as a long-term investment.''
It's a similar story for the 4,230-square-foot Millard House, erected for $17,000 in 1923. The Pasadena, Calif., home, which Mr. Wright fondly called "La Miniatura,'' is priced at $4.495 million—down from $7.7 million in 2008.
The house features walls of concrete blocks, many with a cross pattern that lets light through. Owner David Zander, a producer of television commercials, said he poured nearly $3 million into renovations before putting Millard up for sale. "I thought it would go right away,'' he said. "Aesthetically, it's stunning.''
But the house is prone to leakage during heavy rainfall, partly due to the experimental construction, said Crosby Doe, its real-estate agent. There now is "a very interested buyer" though no contract has been offered yet, the agent added this week. Mr. Doe also cautioned that buyers of unique architectural residences like Millard need to be ready to compromise "in terms of today's modern living.''
Some buyers of Wright homes didn't learn that lesson until their deals closed. Accountant Janet Copeland and her husband, Peter, a retired corporate attorney, bought the 1949 Eric Brown House in Kalamazoo, Mich., for $500,000 in June. The 2,900-square-foot residence has five bedrooms, large windows facing a lake and enough mahogany to fill a railcar, Mr. Copeland said.
However, the bedroom doorways in the single-story structure are cut just 22 inches wide. So movers brought in the Copelands' sectional sofa, armchair and library table through an oversize window. The galley-style kitchen is so tiny that the refrigerator door bangs into the dishwasher, Ms. Copeland said. She came to realize the quirks are inevitable. "They are part of what makes a Frank Lloyd Wright house,'' she said.
Many owners of Wright homes believe the pleasures of dwelling in a legendary architect's creation far outweigh any drawbacks. In designing a residence without attic, basement or garage for Cincinnati car dealer Gerald Tonkens in 1953, Mr. Wright explained, "I don't believe in wasted space,'' according to Mr. Tonkens's widow, Beverly Tonkens-Vangrov. She says she greatly enjoyed her 43 years in the Tonkens House, crafted so it "brings nature in.''
The home has 397 windows and a red tile inscribed with Mr. Wright's initials cemented above the front doorbell. In February, she listed the 3,123-square-foot property for $1.788 million. "The house is magical," Mrs. Tonkens-Vangrov said. "I will be very sad leaving this home.''
Costly restorations of Wright homes can last years. Fixing up the Sweeton House in Cherry Hill, N.J., will be a 20-year project, said owner Dan Nichols, an architect. He and his wife, Christine Denario, a mental-health professional, paid $350,000 for the 1,180-square-foot home in 2008. They already have shelled out about $55,000 to repair the leaky roof, replace outworn cabinets and make related kitchen improvements. He estimates additional renovations easily could cost another $160,000.
"We're doing this pay as you go,'' Mr. Nichols said. "We are not wealthy.''
The Tarantinos devoted 13 years to restoring the Bachman Wilson House, an effort that cost more than their purchase price. In late 1953, Mr. Wright agreed to design the home at the age of 86 for chemist Abraham Wilson and his wife, Gloria Bachman. He wrote them at the time, saying, "I suppose I am still here to try to do houses for such as you."
Among other things, the Tarantinos stripped paint from faded black concrete floors and tracked down their original red pigment—also the shade of the terrace floor.
Damage from floods, which twice filled the first floor with more than 6 feet of water, forced more repairs. Recovery went well "because of the excellent condition of the house,'' Ms. Tarantino said.
They regret selling a home where they spent much of their lives—and much of their life savings. But they can't risk more damage.
"We need to move the house,'' Ms. Tarantino said. But she's hopeful—because there are "numerous interested buyers."
Write to Joann S. Lublin at joann.lublin@wsj.com

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